Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs (March 13, 1916 – July 27, 2013) was a politician who served as a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives and later as
United States Ambassador to the Holy See
The ambassador of the United States to the Holy See is the official representative of the United States of America to the Holy See, the leadership of the Catholic Church. The official representation began with the formal opening of diplomatic re ...
. She was the first woman elected to Congress from
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
. She was also a permanent chairwoman of the
1976 Democratic National Convention
The 1976 Democratic National Convention met at Madison Square Garden in New York City, from July 12 to July 15, 1976. The assembled United States Democratic Party delegates at the convention nominated former Governor Jimmy Carter of Geor ...
, which met in New York City to nominate the
Carter-
Mondale ticket. She was the first woman to preside over a major party convention.
Boggs was the widow of former
Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are ele ...
Hale Boggs
Thomas Hale Boggs Sr. (February 15, 1914 – disappeared October 16, 1972; declared dead December 29, 1972) was an American Democratic politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the House ma ...
. She is one of three female U.S. Representatives from Louisiana, the others being
Catherine Small Long
Mary Catherine Small Long (born Mary Catherine Small; February 7, 1924 – November 23, 2019) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Louisiana's 8th congressional district, which she filled from 1985 to 1987, the r ...
and
Julia Letlow, each of whom took office in special elections after the death of their husbands.
Personal life
Boggs was born as Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne on March 13, 1916, on the Brunswick Plantation near
New Roads
New Roads (historically french: Poste-de-Pointe-Coupée) is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana was located in New Roads in 2000. The population was 4,831 at the ...
in
Pointe Coupee Parish
Pointe Coupee Parish ( or ; french: Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,802; in 2020, its population was 20,758. The parish seat is New Roads.
Pointe ...
in South
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
, the daughter of Corinne Morrison and Roland Philemon Claiborne, a prominent lawyer. Claiborne's father died when she was just two, but her resemblance to her father earned her the nickname "Lindy," short for the female version of Roland, "Rolinde."
She graduated from
Newcomb College
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, or Newcomb College, was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daug ...
, the women's college at
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...
in
in 1935. In 1934, Lindy Claiborne met
Thomas Hale Boggs at Tulane where the pair worked as editors for the school newspaper, ''The Hullabaloo''.
Boggs attended
Tulane Law School
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States.
In addition to the usual co ...
and earned his law degree in 1937 while Claiborne worked as a school teacher after the pair graduated from Tulane. Claiborne and Boggs were married on January 22, 1938 in
New Roads, Louisiana
New Roads (historically french: Poste-de-Pointe-Coupée) is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana was located in New Roads in 2000. The population was 4,831 at the ...
.
They had four children:
Cokie Roberts
Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne "Cokie" Roberts (née Boggs; December 27, 1943 – September 17, 2019) was an American journalist and author. Her career included decades as a political reporter and analyst for National Public Radio, PBS, ...
(a television journalist);
Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr. (a
lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
);
Barbara Boggs Sigmund
Barbara Boggs Sigmund (May 27, 1939 – October 10, 1990) was an American writer, Democratic politician, and civic leader. She served as a Mercer County Freeholder and mayor of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey from 1983 to 1990. She finishe ...
, a mayor of
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...
, New Jersey, and an unsuccessful candidate in the 1982 New Jersey Democratic senatorial primary election (won by
Frank Lautenberg
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was ori ...
); and William Robertson Boggs, who died as an infant on December 28, 1946.
Career
![Corinne Lindy Boggs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Corinne_Lindy_Boggs.jpg)
In 1940, Hale Boggs won a seat in the House of Representatives and the Boggs family relocated to Washington, D.C. Boggs lost his 1942 re-election bid, but subsequently returned to win a seat as the representative of
Jefferson Parish Jefferson may refer to:
Names
* Jefferson (surname)
* Jefferson (given name)
People
* Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States
* Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian f ...
in 1947 where he served until his death.
On October 16, 1972, Representative Hale Boggs' twin-engine
Cessna
Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing ...
plane disappeared over
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
. Boggs was helping a colleague,
Nicholas Begich, father of future U.S. Senator
Mark Begich
Mark Peter Begich ( ; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Mayor of Anchorage from 2003 to 2009.
Born in ...
of Alaska, to campaign for reelection.
The first bill that the House passed in 1973, House Resolution 1, officially recognized Hale Boggs' death and created the need for a
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
. Lindy Boggs ran successfully as a
Democrat for her husband's vacated seat in
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans and stretches west and north to Baton Rouge. The district is currently represented by Democrat Troy Carter. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+25, ...
, in New Orleans.
![Lindy Boggs US Capitol Portrait by Ned Bittinger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Lindy_Boggs_US_Capitol_Portrait_by_Ned_Bittinger.png)
Boggs was elected to a full term in 1974 with 82 percent of the vote and was re-elected seven times thereafter until she vacated her office in January 1991. In 1980, she faced her closest challenge from the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Rob Couhig, an attorney-businessman who raised some $200,000 for the race, a large amount at that time for a challenger in a difficult district. Lindy Boggs still prevailed, 45,091 votes (63.8 percent) to Couhig's 25,512 (36.2 percent). Another 4.8 percent of the ballots were cast for Democratic former
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United S ...
Clyde F. Bel, Jr., of New Orleans. Otherwise, Boggs polled more than 80 percent in her contested races. After her district was redrawn in 1984 in response to a federal court order mandating Louisiana's first majority-African-American district, she became the only white member of Congress representing a majority-African-American constituency.
She announced her retirement from public office in 1990. She was succeeded by
William J. Jefferson.
Accomplishments
She was influential in composing the
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) is a United States law (codified at et seq.), enacted 28 October 1974, that makes it unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction, on ...
of 1974. When the Banking committee marked up the ECOA, she added the provision banning discrimination due to sex or marital status without informing the other members of the committee beforehand, personally inserting the language on her own and photocopying new versions of the bill.
She then told the other committee members, "Knowing the members composing this committee as well as I do, I'm sure it was just an oversight that we didn't have 'sex' or 'marital status' included. I've taken care of that, and I trust it meets with the committee's approval."
The committee unanimously approved the bill.
Boggs was the first woman to preside over a national political convention, specifically the 1976
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...
.
![BOGGS LINDY 1984](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/BOGGS_LINDY_1984.jpg)
In 1991, she was awarded the
Laetare Medal
The Laetare Medal is an annual award given by the University of Notre Dame in recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church and society. The award is given to an American Catholic or group of Catholics "whose genius has ennobled the a ...
by the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...
, the oldest and most prestigious award for
American Catholics
With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the country's second largest religious grouping, after Protestantism, and the country's largest single church or Christian denomination where Protestantism is divided in ...
.
In 1994, Boggs was inducted into the
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame located in Winnfield, Louisiana. Created by a 1987 act of the Louisiana State Legislature, it honors the best-known politicians and political journalists in the state.
H ...
in
Winnfield, one year after her husband had been among the original thirteen inductees.
In 1997, President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
appointed her official U.S.
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...
to the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
, a position she held until 2001.
In 2005, Boggs's home on
Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street (french: Rue Bourbon, es, Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars an ...
in New Orleans' French Quarter sustained moderate wind damage from
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
. In 2006, she was awarded the Congressional Distinguished Service Award for her time in the House of Representatives.
Boggs was a member of
Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority, international collegiate, and non-profit community service organization that was founded on November 12, 1922, by seven educators on the Irvington campus (1875– ...
, one of the four traditionally African-American sororities in the United States.
The Boggs Center for Energy and Biotechnology Building at Tulane is named in her honor.
Boggs and her daughter,
Cokie Roberts
Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne "Cokie" Roberts (née Boggs; December 27, 1943 – September 17, 2019) was an American journalist and author. Her career included decades as a political reporter and analyst for National Public Radio, PBS, ...
, received the Foremother Award from the
National Center for Health Research in 2013.
Death
Boggs died of natural causes at her home in
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in t ...
on July 27, 2013, at age 97. A funeral Mass was held on August 1, 2013 at St. Louis Cathedral at 615 Pere Antoine Alley in New Orleans. Interment followed later in the day at St. Mary's Cemetery in New Roads, Louisiana.
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives ...
ordered all U.S. and state flags in Louisiana to fly at half staff until August 2 in Mrs. Boggs' memory.
See also
*
Women in the United States House of Representatives
Women have served in the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber, since the 1916 election of Republican Jeannette Rankin from Montana, the first woman in Con ...
References
Further reading
*Boggs, Lindy, with Katherine Hatch. ''Washington Through a Purple Veil: Memoirs of a Southern Woman''. New York: Harcourt Brace and Co., 1994
*Ferrell, Thomas H., and Judith Haydel. "Hale and Lindy Boggs: Louisiana's National Democrats." Louisiana History 35 (Fall 1994): 389–402.
*Tyler, Pamela. "Silk Stockings & Ballot Boxes: Women & Politics in New Orleans, 1920 - 1965". University of Georgia Press, 1996.
*Carrick, Bess. "Lindy Boggs: Steel and Velvet". Documentary film chronicles Mrs. Boggs' career in politics and features Cokie & Steve Roberts, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. John Lewis, former House Speaker
Tom Foley
Thomas Stephen Foley (March 6, 1929 – October 18, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. A member of the Democratic Party, Foley represent ...
, and scholars, Dr. Patrick Maney, & Dr. Pamela Tyler. Produced by Bess Carrick with Louisiana Public Broadcasting, 2006. Airdate 2006–present, nationwide via PBS-Plus.
* Maney, Patrick J. "Hale Boggs: The Southerner as National Democrat" in Raymond W Smock and Susan W Hammond, eds. Masters of the House: Congressional Leadership Over Two Centuries (1998) pp 33–62.
External links
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Famefro
Oral Histories of the American South*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boggs, Lindy
1916 births
2013 deaths
20th-century American diplomats
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American women politicians
21st-century American diplomats
Ambassadors of the United States to the Holy See
American women ambassadors
Boggs family
Catholics from Louisiana
Catholics from Maryland
Claiborne family
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Laetare Medal recipients
People from Chevy Chase, Maryland
People from Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
Politicians from New Orleans
Recipients of the Four Freedoms Award
Tulane University alumni
Women in Louisiana politics
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College alumni